Happy Endings...

A few weekends ago, our family drove to Minnesota to celebrate my sister-in-law's baby shower. I wanted to do something special, but living over four hours away made it difficult to help with the planning. Then... it hit me. I had the most PERFECT idea! 

COOKIEKINS personalized edible transfers, of course!

I filled out the order page for the baby cookie design I wanted, and within a day or two, they emailed me back my proof. They are simply AMAZING, I tell you (but you already knew that, didn't you?) 

The transfers arrived within a few days by Priority Mail, and they were so cute! I got mine customized a little, this design normally has the baby's announcement info.

In the middle of the-week-from-you-know-where, I set to work. Put the kids to bed, pulled out my favorite sugar cookie recipe, and got ready to mix. My plan was to make the dough, chill it overnight, then roll it out, cut, bake, and frost the following evening. HA. HA. HA. First, I realized I didn't have enough butter for the recipe. No problem! I threw on some shoes, drove a few blocks to the grocery store, and.... realized butter is as expensive as gold. I stood there for a few moments... my head turning from the freakishly expensive butter to the almost-as-expensive-but-much-more-convenient pre-made cookie dough in the very next cooler. Hmmmm.... I love to bake. But it WAS after 8 pm on a weeknight. And heck, if pre-made cookie dough is good enough for our Teacha Rita, it's good enough for me! 

A few dollars in pre-made dough later, I was back at home, rolling those cookies out and tossing them in the oven. I made the mistake of leaving the baking part to my husband while I took a quick spin on the treadmill. (I may or may not have had a tiny bit of guilt over all of the cookie dough I sampled while I was rolling out the cookies...) Up from the basement, I found several sheets of cookies cooling. HUGE cookies, I might add. Gah! I forgot to tell my darling husband that we had to re-cut the cookies before they cooled to attain that "perfect circle." (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, see Teacha Rita's incredible tutorial here ) 

At this point, it was after 9:30. I debated whether or not to start again, or just wait until the next evening, knowing I would have to do ALL the steps the next night in order for the cookies to be set up enough to package them before our drive to MN. I was tired from the treadmill... and did I mention it was in the middle of one of the craziest weeks of my life? I went to bed. 

The next day, somewhere in the middle of my 12 hour work day (I was stuck at work until after 8pm for parent-teacher conferences) I remembered I still had cookies to buy. And bake. And frost. It was going to be a long night. 

On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store, grabbed a few packages of "break-apart" pre-made cookie dough, and headed home. Before I even changed out of my work clothes, I had those babies on a cookie sheet and in the oven. Once again, I left hubby in charge of baking as I changed, kissed my sleeping babies, and checked my email. Once I got back to the kitchen, I knew we had a problem. While "break-apart" dough is exceptionally convenient, it makes teeny-tiny cookies. These just wouldn't work. It was about this point I *almost* had a nervous breakdown. 

God bless my husband. Without hesitation, he threw on some shoes, and headed out to the grocery store... all decked out in a spit-up stained sweatshirt and his orange mermaid pajama pants that the girls bought him last year for Christmas. (That, in itself, was enough to bring a smile back to my face!) He returned with a few more rolls of cookie dough and a package of peanut butter cups. He's a good man, I tell you. 

It was a long night.... but man, so worth it! The cookies turned out simply AMAZING. All craziness aside (which was all my fault..... ) the cookie decals really were simple and easy to use. You freeze the sheets of decals a day ahead, or as little as an hour if your kitchen is cold and low on humidity, and gently peel them off. (If they don't come up easy, you have to freeze them longer.) Just lay them down on the frosting, and adjust their positions really quick if you need to. That's it! Make sure your frosting area is wider than the decals so they adhere well. (They can't adhere to cookie, only frosting.)


The finished product? Well, I'll let you be the judge.... 

If you're not a baker, there is always the option of using the decals on store-bought cupcakes with frosting, or better yet, ordering your Cookiekins pre-baked and decorated! Check out all the Cookiekins awesomeness here.

Good luck and happy cookie- making!

Live simply. Love generously.

Care deeply. Speak kindly.